


February Drabble Challenge

by daughter_of_lilith



Series: Ever Expanding Drabble Series [1]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Gen, Ohana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-01
Updated: 2016-03-01
Packaged: 2018-05-24 02:43:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6138619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/daughter_of_lilith/pseuds/daughter_of_lilith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I challenged myself to write a drabble a day for the whole month of February and this is the result. A collection of little vignettes of the lives of our favorite Ohana.</p>
            </blockquote>





	February Drabble Challenge

(i)  
Steve can’t believe he’s waited so long to do this. Danny’s lips are so soft beneath his, the faint burn of stubble an intoxicating sensation. The decisiveness of finally acting on a five year urge a warm, contented feeling.  
‘At last’, Steve thinks, ‘at last...’ He moves to deepen the kiss but freezes as he realizes Danny isn’t responding. With a horrible sinking feeling in his stomach he pulls back. Blue eyes full of guilt and sorrow slowly raise to meet his own.  
“I’m so sorry… this isn’t… I’m not…”  
Steve takes a single deep shuddering breath, turns and runs. 

(ii)  
Danny will never admit it out loud but he’s starting to become rather fond of Hawai’i. He still hates the sand (which gets everywhere) and the endless sun (which insists on giving him a golden tan in spite of all the sunscreen) but there are a few compensations. Seeing Gracie laughing carefree and happy as she and Kono gang up on Steve and dunk him under the waves, and watching Steve rise up out of the water, board shorts riding low on his hips, water cascading down his chest, caressing every muscle… there are definitely worse places to end up.

 

(iii)  
“It’s not fair!” Grace cried, stamping her feet “I don’t want to go, I want to stay here with you!”  
Danny glanced at Rachel as he knelt in front of his little girl in the cavernous entryway of Step-Stan’s mansion, moving boxes scattered all around. He tried not to let any of the rage he was feeling show on his face, but Rachel blanched all the same.  
“I know you don’t want to go,” he said turning back to his daughter, “but you have to go with your Mom. I will follow you, Monkey, I promise. Remember, Danno loves you.”

(iv)  
Steve’s glad to be back in Hawai’i, he really is. He’s missed the sea and his old house, and the laid back lifestyle of his childhood. But some days the ghosts of his past and the demons of his present gather too close and he needs to escape, just for a while. The ocean is always there for him, cool and welcoming. He’ll swim until his arms burn and his head is finally empty. Until there is nothing but the sun and the waves and the familiar rhythm of his breath. Until he feels cleansed, born anew from the water.

(v)  
Sound returns slowly, muffled noise resolving into the sharp beeping of heart monitor. His body feels foreign, his limbs too heavy and his head wrapped in cotton wool. He grasps at floating memories, but can’t make them resolve. Can’t remember anything before waking in this bed. The air conditioning is cold through the thin hospital blanket but there is a puzzling warmth against his hip. He turns his head gingerly, blinking his eyes, forcing the blurriness away through sheer force of will. A man is asleep in the uncomfortable plastic chair beside the bed, tousled head pressed against his side. 

(vi)  
It’s not like Danny hasn’t thought about it. Steve isn’t as subtle as he thinks, and Danny’s not so blind he hasn’t noticed the flirting. Hell, he’s flirted back, just to make sure Steve doesn’t lose interest. But the thought of taking that last step scares the living daylights out of him. Cause he’s been here before, and you start off thinking this is forever, and before you realize it you’re living in a crappy apartment a thousand miles from home just so you can see your daughter twice a week. He can’t risk going through that again, even for Steve.

(vii)  
If anyone ever asked Grace would say she loved her uncle Steve before she even met him. Ever since Danno had moved halfway round the world to be close to her he’d been unhappy. Oh he’d tried to hide it, tried not to let her see how bitter and alone he felt but he’d never been very good at concealing his emotions. Then all of a sudden he wasn’t sad anymore, he was angry. Ranting on and on about his new partner’s behavior, but Grace figured if he stopped Danno being sad, he must be the best partner ever. 

(viii)  
Between juggling custody of his kids, babysitting Steve to prevent him from blowing up half of Oahu, and keeping up to date with new police procedures it’s not often that Danny Williams has the pleasure of an afternoon with absolutely nothing to do. But today Grace and Charlie are in Vegas visiting Step-Stan, the criminals of Honolulu are all laying low, and Steve is off on a reserve training weekend, being someone else’s problem for a change. With a contented sigh he kicks his feet up on the coffee table, locates the bookmark in his novel, and begins to read. 

(ix)  
“If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times, you are not allowed to store deadly weapons in the Camaro!”  
“But Danno, a machete is hardly a deadly weapon…”  
“In your hands Steven, anything is a deadly weapon. You took out that criminal last week with a small pineapple, I can only imagine the chaos and havoc you could wreak with an actual blade.”  
“But what if we end up pursuing a suspect into the forest?”  
“In that very unlikely situation you may feel free to say I told you so. However, until then, the machete stays behind.” 

(x)  
Grace’s favorite thing about living in Hawaii is how colorful everything is. Her memories of Jersey are drawn in shades of grey; grey concrete, grey skies, grey snow. But here the colors are so vivid they barely seem real. Everything, from the sky to the sea to the jungle in between is so bright and glorious that she can’t believe it sometimes. How can somewhere like this exist at the same time as somewhere like Jersey? Why doesn’t everyone want to live in this bright and beautiful place? She loves her Dad, but sometimes she thinks he’s a little crazy. 

(xi)  
It takes months before Chin enters his kitchen again. He finds excuses to work late and grab a bite at the office, picks up take-out on the way home, or takes the others up on their frequent invites to dinner. They’re not subtle about their concern, but right now Chin just needs a distraction. It comes to head one Saturday morning when wakes to find the others on his doorstep, demolition tools in hand.  
“I hear you in da market for a new kitchen,” Kamekona says with a smile.  
“It’s time cuz,” Kono says, “let us do this for you.” 

(xii)  
Despite what the rest of the team seems to think, Danny is no slacker in the physical fitness department. Keeping up with energizer-bunny McGarrett takes dedication and Danny has never not gone above and beyond for his job. He hates running though, has ever since he blew his knee out. He prefers to get his cardio in a way that won’t leave him relying on his cane afterwards. But when the email for the Tough Mudder race hits his inbox Danny forces himself to be positive. Steve needs the distraction, and maybe it won’t be as bad as it sounds?

(xiii)  
Charlie is the only kid at school who has three dads. The other kids tease him sometimes, but he knows they’re just jealous ‘cause his dads are the coolest. Daddy Stan has a big house with a huge yard and takes Charlie to visit Vegas all the time on an airplane. Daddy Danno is a cop who keeps everyone safe and he gave Charlie some of his blood so Charlie wouldn’t be sick anymore. But Daddy Steve is the best of all. Charlie wants to grow up and join the Navy so he can be a superhero just like Steve.

(xiv)  
Grace loves Charlie, but right now she hates him too.  
“Grace darling, We have something to tell you about Charlie. Stan isn’t his father... Danny is.”  
Grace doesn’t want to share her Danno with anyone, not even her little brother. Danno is hers. What happens if he decides he loves Charlie more than her? What happens if he realizes that having a son is better than having a daughter? He must see the panic in her eyes because he sweeps her up into a tight hug.  
“Remember Monkey, Danno loves you. Danno will always love you, this doesn’t change that.” 

(xv)  
The sun shone brightly through the gently waving palm trees, the breeze bringing the faint scent of ti and ginger wafting by, while the faint susurrus of the distant waves completed the scene. On such a perfect day it was hard to imagine anything could blight it, but the headless body in the middle of the park was succeeding remarkably well.  
Danny stared down at the corpse and wondered if grabbing a malasada on the way to the scene had been a bad idea or not.  
“Well, there goes our Sunday,” Steve remarked over his shoulder.  
Danny nodded and sighed.

(xvi)  
Charlie has a hard time holding back his smile, watching Kono’s face scrunches up in confusion as she runs through her memories trying to place him. She looks much the same, hair a little shorter maybe, and more self-confidence, but it’s definitely the same Kono Kalakaua he remembers.  
He could take pity on her he supposes, but where’s the fun in that? He wonders how long he can drag this out, an hour, maybe two? She’s bound to remember eventually, even if he’s a little hurt that the memory was apparently more important to him than it was to her. 

(xvii)  
Kamekona looks up from cleaning the grill and smiles as he sees the Five-0 team stroll up and sit down at their favorite table. He’s seen the news reports and he knows nothing serious is going on at the moment so the team isn’t in a hurry. Perfect, that means they’ll be happy to help solve his current problem.  
“Hele!” he calls, “take five of the new specials over to table two.”  
“You sure about that boss?” Nehele queries, “I’m not sure we’ve got the flavor right yet.”  
“Well, it’s a good thing our taste-testers just got here ‘aint it?” 

(xviii)  
Danny stares at the grocery list pinned to the fridge and sighs.  
“Why do I even bother with you!” he yells up the stairs. “I know you do this to annoy me.”  
“But Danno,” Steve appears on the landing looking far too gleeful, “I know how much you prefer to do the shopping.”  
“It’s because you insist on eating things that are not food. See I happen to know for a fact that…” he glances at the list again, “wheat-grass and turkey bacon are not meant for human consumption, and can we discuss the last item here, three pineapples? Really?” 

(xix)  
It’s not that Steve doesn’t want to, it’s just that he can’t. Eighteen years in the navy, eighteen years building his career into something to make his absent father proud, eighteen years of not allowing himself anything that would distract him from the goal of being the best he could possibly be, those years can’t be put aside so easily. After so long denying himself he barely even remembers what it’s like to want something just because it would make him happy. But maybe, he could relearn what that feels like, and just maybe Danny would be willing to help.

(xx)  
If there’s one thing everyone knows about Danny Williams, it’s that he’s angry. He’s always complaining, waving his arms around, always willing to argue. Anyone who talks to him for more than ten minutes will be intimately acquainted with his feelings on Hawaii, pineapple on pizza, and ex-wives who don’t play nice at custody hearings. What most people choose not to see however, is that it’s all a cover. When Danny sounds angry, he’s fine, when he’s actually angry, he doesn’t say anything at all. His team knows though, and when Danny gets quiet that’s the time to be afraid. 

(xxi)  
“You know what I hate most…” Danny sighed, “she broke up our family, forced me to move out here, then couldn’t even be bothered to make it work with Stan. Did I tell you he’s filing for divorce?”  
“It’s not all your fault,” Steve started, “Rachel is as much to blame…”  
“No babe, this one’s all on me. I should have known. It didn’t work the first time, in what crazy drug-fueled fantasy did I think it would work the second time? And I put Gracie through it all over again. Don’t know if I can forgive myself for that.”

(xxii)  
Rachel’s never been very good at sharing. Growing up as an only child she’d never really had to. She’d hated how close Danny was to his family, resented every minute he’d spent with them instead of with her. Later, she’d felt that same resentment every time Grace had smiled up at him from her crib and known it was the beginning of the end. Stan wasn’t like Danny, didn’t try to get between her and Grace. She supposes she should feel guilty about cutting Danny out, but she is who she is, and she’s never been good at pretending otherwise.

(xxiii)  
For all that Danny talks he’s not good about saying the important things. The words ‘I love you’ have never come easy to him, it took him over a year to tell Rachel the first time, never said it to any partner before her. It’s not that he doesn’t feel it, it’s just that if he’s going to say it he’s going to mean it with all his heart, and that takes time. Still when he watches Steve being lifted into the chopper with his arm held awkwardly at his side he finds his hands saying what his mouth cannot.

(xxiv)  
It’s always been understood that Danny Williams rarely gets what he wants. He wants to move back to Jersey, he wants more time with his little girl, he wants his insane partner to wait for backup just one damn time instead of rushing headlong into danger like he’s bulletproof, but none of those things look likely to happen. So Danny’s got used to disappointment, got used to compromise and sucking it up and just dealing. If he thinks about it too much it’ll make him go crazy, thinking about all the things he wants that are never going to happen. 

(xxv)  
Nahele’s grateful to his foster parents, he really is. They’re nothing like his last foster home. They might nag him to finish his homework, and force him to do chores and eat his vegetables, but they never mind him going round to Commander McGarrett’s every other Saturday to work on the Marquis. They know it’s his favorite part of the week. He would never have thought that stealing the car would lead to this. He doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to repay the commander for everything he’s done, but he’s going to do his best to make Steve proud. 

(xxvi)  
Danny doesn’t think he’s ever been this angry before in his life. His flight was delayed, the apartment he’s renting for more than half his monthly salary is a shit hole, he’s managed to sunburn his first day in Hawaii and to top it all off, he’s lost. He pulls over into a lookout on the side of the highway. In front of him the sea stretches away to the horizon, the waves glinting in the sunlight. The endless vista is remarkably calming, out there there are no custody battles, no ex-wives and new husbands, just the endless rolling ocean. 

(xxvii)  
It’s not often that Steven McGarrett is rendered speechless, but staring at the paper in his hands he can’t think of anything to say. He’s pretty sure this is the most important piece of paper he’s ever owned.  
“You don’t have to put it up, but Gracie made me promise to give it to you…”  
“What are you talking about? Of course I’m putting it up.” Steve stares at the drawing of stick figure versions of him and Grace surfing and feels an irrational surge of pride. “This is going straight on the fridge as soon as I get home.” 

(xxviii)  
Melissa is sure she loves Danny, but sometimes she’s not sure if it’s because he’s good to her, or simply because he’s not her ex. She knows Danny would never hurt her the way Frank did, but she worries she’s only staying with him because he’s safe. It’s not like he shares much of his life with her. She’s pretty sure she was the last one to know about Charlie, and he’s never pushed her to spend time with Grace. She’s not stupid, she knows exactly what that means, but she just doesn’t want to admit it, even to herself. 

(xxix)  
Team barbecue nights are Steve’s favorite. The whole Ohana comes round to his backyard and for a few hours on the lanai there’s food and beers and good company. For one brief evening every month the house doesn’t feel like a monument to his dead parents. Instead it’s filled with laughter and friendship, with Chin’s dry sense of humor, Kono’s surprisingly dirty storytelling, and Danny’s annoyed ranting. He knows eventually they’ll call it a night, but if he’s lucky he can convince Danny to crash on the couch. Put off being alone again, at least for a few more hours.


End file.
